‹ Sunday, December 17, 2006 ›

The Kappa's Gift

NHK managed to pull a fast one on me. No Shingo Natsume in the last episode. Instead, a one-two punch of Norio Matsumoto and Tetsuya Takeuchi. Totally out of the blue. It's like a goodbye thank you to viewers. They had fun with the allotment, too. Matsumoto's shots are sprinkled around here and there like nuggets of gold. Yet again Matsumoto's been called in to help with a climax. I can't figure out who it was that called in the marines this time. Matsumoto's worked for just about every other studio there is in the last few years - Madhouse, Pierrot, Satelight, Radix, Toei, IG, Ghibli - but Gonzo's new to the lineup as far as I know. In any case, it had the desired effect of helping make this a satisfying finale, so it was a good call. There's nothing like calling in a great animator or two to provide a big climax with just the touch of nuanced acting needed to give it the needed punch. It's almost enough to make you forget how different the preceding episodes were. Almost. Even better would have been a tag-team effort by Matsumoto and Takeuchi, but I shouldn't get greedy.

I've been reading a book about erstwhile Crayon Shin-chan director Keiichi Hara. Learning more in depth about the man and his attitudes has only stoked my fire about his new film slated for release next year. It's apparently based on a book published in 1978 entitled Kappa Oosawagi 河童おおさわぎ or "Kappa Uproar". The previous, working title was Kappa no Kureta Okurimono 河童のくれた贈り物 or "The Kappa's Gift", but they may have reverted to the original title.

The film is produced by Hitoshi Mogi, who had been tricked into joining Shinei in 1981 believing he was joining a live-action film studio. He went on to become Shinei's chief producer, in which capacity he worked closely with Hara from the time of his debut as chief director of Esper Mami down through all of the Shin-chan films. Mogi has in fact had this project in the works for a long time, but it is only now beginning to see fruition with the now free Hara at the head of the project.

Information on the project is just about as hard to come by as it is for Denno Coil. About all I know now is that it's still being done at Shinei, and the animation director/character designer is Hara's longtime support from Crayon Shin-chan, Yuichiro Sueyoshi (who animated the climax of Hara's 2001 Adult Empire film etc). I mentioned Tokikake's latest award, the Grand Prize at the Media Arts Festival. Well, Hara won the award in 2002 for his Warring States film, and in his new film he's coupled with the animation director of the 2004 Media Arts Festival Grand Prize winner, Mind Game, which makes for an exciting prospect.

Keiichi Hara had clearly outgrown the confines of the Shin-chan vehicle by the time of his last film in 2002. Shinnosuke had by that time been relegated to a mere side-character in his vast historical tableaus. He'd done everything he felt he could with the material, so he left the post to make a film as he wanted. He approached his last two films in kamikaze style, doing them his own way, consequences be damned, fully expecting each to be his last. As it turns out, audiences loved what he'd done, so he was forced to leave of his own volition.

He had always been more interested in creating meaningful, emotionally resonant drama than slapstick children's fare. Shin-chan might not immediately seem like the best place to do that, but he had managed to inject a more down to earth, grounded tone into the show. His approach was there right off the bat from the very first Shin-chan film in 1992, in which he storyboarded the low-key first half of the film and then-chief director Mitsuru Hongo storyboarded the sci-fi second half. His attention to detail and knack for delicate dramaturgy were a major boon to all of the films.

Not surprisingly for a director who made a film entirely about the idea of nostalgia (Adult Empire), Hara cites among his influences Tarkovsky's film of the same name. He also cites Lawrence of Arabia, Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, and the films of Keisuke Kinoshita and Yasujiro Ozu. Hara is also very particular about his animation. The only two anime films he enjoyed in the last decade were Jin-Roh and Mind Game. Hara's also got a unique approach to living. He's spent a good portion of every year since 1985 travelling abroad, wandering around by foot visiting remote places. He's got a particular penchant for Southeast Asia. Hara is also known for his pared down lifestyle. He doesn't own a cell phone, avoids other modern gadgets, backpacks it wherever he travels. I'm eager to see what the ascetic of the anime industry will do with his breakout film.

7 comments

Random person [Visitor]

NHK: OH MY GOD! Seriously? I’ve been craving for some new good animation recently… Thank you so very much for the heads-up! I seriously let out a loud “What?!” when I read your post… will grab the episode now. What a pleasant surprise! I’d have never expected Matsumoto in this anime at all. Thank you so much. (both you, and whoever got him in the episode).

I find the way Hara lives is very interesting. I don’t know much about the personal lives of anime directors, but didn’t Yuasa say something along the lines that if he could choose what he wanted to do all over again, he’d choose something that would let him get out of the workplace more? It’s quite obvious that if you’re stuck at your desk nearly 24/7, there’s a limit to how creative and fresh your creations can be. It’s important to get a look at the rest of life, let alone the rest of the world, every now and then, but with the sometimes harrowing conditions animators have to work in, I wonder how possible this is.

Oh, and um… surely you mean 河童のくれた贈り物 and not Denno Coil?

12/18/06 @ 03:06

Manuloz [Visitor]

If some of you want to check the nice animation from NHK #24, i have posted links to youtube on the BBS .

I might add that Matsumoto had already done some animation for one of their show Peacemaker Kurogane, it was for the first story, i don’t know if he came back for the last one, i stop before the middle part of the show…

Manuloz: I knew about his work on Kurogane. I just didn’t realize that it was a Gonzo production. He also did work in episode 4.

RP: My sentiments exactly. This was the last place in the world I expected to see either of them, much less both together.

Exactly right about Yuasa. I think how much you’ve experienced in the outside world can definitely affect your work, even if just in the sense of giving you a breather to attack it with fresh energy. But it can definitely also be a source of ideas and inspiration. Without that, I find that animation tends to get stale and inbred. With Hara I got the feeling that his travel was supporting his will to continue working, rather than the work supporting his travel addiction, which I really liked. It’s definitely a lifestyle I can relate to. I would go crazy if I were tied down working in a weekday 9-5 office job, and if I were I might have to resort to doing the sort of thing Hara does just to keep sane. In an age all about newer and better and faster toys I like Hara’s example of a simpler approach.

12/18/06 @ 08:07

Manuloz [Visitor]

Ben> ok thx, do you know how his work look like on episode 4. I just watch an AMV with a nice opening animation coming from Kurogane :

i tried to look for the Hara movie, it is suppose to go out next year?

12/18/06 @ 08:27

Manuloz [Visitor]

… Forget my last question, the answer was already there ^^

So as a anime director you have more time for yourself. i had got the idea they worked like crasy like those youngs animator, who have barely time to sleep (?).
You have sometime to wonder where thay find inspiration, i surely would like to know what someone like yuasa like over than in animation.

By the Way, did Yuasa get sick during the production of Kemonozume due to overwork?
I think i have read something about it on the blog but not sure…

12/18/06 @ 08:42

Ben [Member]

Manuloz:

I get the impression in this case that Hara simply made it a point to go on trips because his sanity required it, not because he wasn’t busy. I don’t really know what the average of busyness is for anime directors, though… it’s an interesting question.

I think the story on the blog about Yuasa being hospitalized is that Yuasa was feeling a little under the weather one day, which he mentioned to a runner who happened to drop by his place or something… The runner then returned to the studio and blew the story way out of proportion, saying Yuasa was going to the hospital. Then later that night in waltzes Yuasa to everyone’s surprise.

But I was actually kind of worried when I saw a recent photo of Yuasa. He looked decidedly emaciated. I could totally picture there being something to the overwork idea in Yuasa’s case. I hope he takes care of himself.

I remember in an interview once Yuasa mentioned he was listening to Radiohead while working on Mind Game, but I don’t know much about what else he’s into…

And for Kurogane, that’s interesting. That part at the beginning of that AMV doesn’t appear to be from episode 4 (check the very end of part 2 on Youtube), so I’m not too sure where it’s from if it is Matsumoto. It does kind of look like him.

RP:

Oh, and I forgot - I did actually mean Denno Coil. I was making the point that Hara’s project seems about as hush-hush as Iso’s.